1Department of Public Health and Policy, Farr Institute@HeRC, Liverpool, UK

Correspondence to: D C Taylor-Robinson dctr{at}liv.ac.uk

Poverty is a key driver of the UK’s dismal performance on child health

Last week yet another report highlighted the poor state of child health in the UK.1 The Nuffield Trust analysis, focusing on adolescent health, shows we compare poorly with other countries in terms of childhood long term conditions, obesity, asthma deaths, and young people not in education, employment, or training.

Other recent reports show we also lag behind in terms of health for babies and younger children.23 Mental health for children in the UK has been described as being “in crisis.”4 The Nuffield Trust report further shows that 11% of young people aged 15-19 years in the UK are living in severe material deprivation. This is the fourth highest rate in Europe, with a worsening trend over time. Material deprivation is judged on whether families can afford a decent meal every second day and to go on holiday, and whether they can cope with sudden unexpected financial expenses.1

Not only do we compare poorly with other countries, the situation seems to be getting worse for many child …

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David CTaylor-Robinsonprofessor of public health and policy, Eric TLaipostdoctoral research fellow, MargaretWhiteheadW H Duncan professor of public health, BenBarrsenior clinical lecturer in applied public health research